Abstract
With the continued growth in plastic production, its ubiquitous use and insufficient waste management and disposal, the increased levels of plastics in the environment have led to growing ecological concerns. The breakdown of these plastic macromolecules to smaller micro and nanosized particles and their detection in the aerial, aquatic, marine and terrestrial environments has been reviewed extensively, especially for thermoplastics. However, the formation of micro and nanoplastics has typically been explained as a physical abrasion process, largely overlooking the underlying chemical structure-morphology correlations to the degradation mechanisms of the plastics. This is particularly true for the common commodity thermosets. This review focuses on the degradation pathways for the most widely produced commodity thermoplastics and thermosets into microplastics (MP)s and nanoplastics (NP)s, as well as their behaviour and associated toxicity. Special emphasis is placed on NPs, which are associated with greater risks for toxicity compared to MPs, due to their higher surface area to volume ratios. This review also assesses the current state of standardized detection and quantification methods as well as comprehensive regulations for these fragments in the aquatic environment.
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Abbreviations
- Đ:
-
Dispersity
- FTIR:
-
Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy
- HDPE:
-
High density polyethylene
- LDPE:
-
Low density polyethylene
- MPs:
-
Microplastics
- MW:
-
Molecular weight
- NPs:
-
Nanoplastics
- PAHs:
-
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
- PBDE:
-
Polybrominated diphenyl ethers
- PCBs:
-
Polychlorinated biphenyls
- PCPs:
-
Personal care products
- PE:
-
Polyethylene
- PET:
-
Polyethylene terephthalate
- PNEC:
-
Predicted no effect concentration
- PP:
-
Polypropylene
- PS:
-
Polystyrene
- PU:
-
Polyurethane
- PU-ET:
-
Polyether-based polyurethane
- PVC:
-
Polyvinylchloride
- SBR:
-
Styrene-butadiene rubber
- TWP:
-
Tire and roadway particles
- WWTPs:
-
Wastewater treatment plants
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Acknowledgments
The authors would like to acknowledge Dr. Chris Metcalfe for his generous assistance in providing thoughtful comments and reviewing the manuscript and Eric Wootton for his countless clarity revisions. The authors would also like to thank Ariel Weiss for providing the background art for the graphical abstract.
Authors’ Contributions
Cassandra Johannessen: Writing, editing, data curation, literature research, visualization, chemical structures/schemes/figures.
Dr. Shegufa Shetranjiwalla: Conceptualization, writing, editing, literature research, resources, supervision.
Conflicts of Interest/Competing Interests
The authors have no conflicts of interest to report.
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Johannessen, C., Shetranjiwalla, S. (2021). Role of Structural Morphology of Commodity Polymers in Microplastics and Nanoplastics Formation: Fragmentation, Effects and Associated Toxicity in the Aquatic Environment. In: de Voogt, P. (eds) Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology Volume 259. Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, vol 259. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/398_2021_80
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